Page 50 of Fumbled Into Love

“Great idea!” Nathalie drunkenly chases Gordie, and once we’re positioned, Maren snaps a photo of the three of us. Two Hobbits and a mini Smaug.

I immediately make it my screensaver.

Nathalie’s eyes are full of joy as she smiles, leaning her head on my shoulder while she holds Gordie. She is breathtakingly beautiful.

A large hand slaps me on the shoulder, squeezing tightly.

“Maren wants a cat instead of the dog I’ve spent weeks convincing her we should adopt. Thanks for that,” Jack says, shaking his head in amusement.

“Hey! He’s my boyfriend! Not yours. Keep your hands to yourself, mister.”

The room grows eerily quiet. Nathalie stands between Jack and me, her small body a flimsy shield against the six-foot-five, three-hundred-pound lineman who is paid millions to defend me on the football field.

She’s chosen the wrong battle. Not to mention, Jack has the patience of a saint and is the kindest person I’ve met. He is also married to Maren and has zero intention of flirting with me, which is what Nathalie is suggesting.

Nathalie lied. She’s not tipsy; she’s fully drunk. This rivals the fake proposal I had to stop this summer between her and Declan when they both got drunk. I had to promise Nathalie I would get her Twizzlers and feed them to her like grapes for her to let it go.

Thankfully, only one of us remembers that night.

Jack cocks an eyebrow.

“Beat him up, Nathalie!” Maren yells, and Jack’s eyes dart to his wife, a smile tugging at his lips.

“I wasn’t flirting with yourboyfriend.” Nathalie's brows crinkle as Jack draws out the word. He raises a brow in my direction. I ignore him and grab Nathalie by the shoulders.

“I think it’s time for us to go.” I snatch my cat and corral my territorial fake girlfriend toward the door. “What a lovely party, Maren. Love the decorations. Love you. Bye!”

Oh no, I’m rambling. Sawyer and Henry bite back laughs, and Declan watches with curious eyes, darting between Nathalie and me. He smirks, and I quickly look away.

Maren lifts off the ground, pulling me in for a hug. Nathalie growls, and I ignore the fluttering feeling in my chest.

As I help Nathalie into the car with the cat, she begins to giggle. Softly at first, but it morphs into something maniacal.

“Your jealous boyfriend was good, but my jealous girlfriend isspectacular.”

CHAPTER 12

“Guess it’s true, I’m not good at a one-night stand”

Stay With Me – Sam Smith

Deon

“French fries!” Nathalie screams from the passenger seat of the car, startling me. “I need french fries.” She obnoxiously bats her eyelashes as Gordie sleeps quietly in her lap. Her eyes grow unnaturally large behind her glasses. “Pretty please?”

A goofy, lopsided grin overtakes her face, and my heart does a small pitter-patter. Since we’ve left Jack and Maren’s home, it's been pitteringandpattering. If we’re being painfully truthful, it’s been that way from the moment I realized beneath Nathalie’s soft-spoken exterior is a messy, teasing spitfire who’s hell-bent on making my life exhilarating.

“Fine,” I relent, “Let’s go get you some food.”

Five minutes later, I’m pulling my car into the drive-thru of a run-down McDonald's, and Nathalie is as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.

“Do you only want french fries?”

Nathalie scoffs as if my question is blasphemous.

“I’m not a monster, Deon. I need nuggets, too.”

She rattles off her order, leaning to get closer to the window. Her proximity lights my skin on fire, the soft, sweet scent of her perfume permeating the air.

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